LOGINARMANDO~•~My doors swung open and a rush of cold morning air filled the room. I stood near the bottom of the staircase with my arms crossed, watching the man who stepped inside. Dante Reyes. He carried one duffel bag slung over his shoulder and moved like he had been in places like this before. His eyes scanned the chandelier, the marble floors, and the two guards standing behind me without any change in his expression. No fake smile. No attempt to look impressed. I liked that about him right away.“Don Armando,” he said, walking forward and holding out his hand. “Dante Reyes.”I shook it firmly, testing his grip. It was strong and steady. “You made good time.”“Don Rafael does not like delays when he owes a favor,” Dante replied. He set the bag down by his feet and glanced around once more. “Nice place. Feels a little too quiet for the kind of trouble you described on the phone.”I did not answer that. Instead I jerked my head toward the east corridor. “Walk with me. I will tell
ELEANOR~•~The room I was locked in had a window that faced the compound and I'd been sitting at it since before the sun came up, watching the guards move through their rotations below.Matilda was still out there somewhere.That was the thing I kept coming back to. Everything else, Armando, Matteo, the poison, the basement, all of it was sitting right there at the edges of my mind, but Matilda was at the center. My little sister in some room I couldn't picture, with people I didn't know, and a body that was already fighting hard enough without adding fear on top of it.I pressed my forehead against the glass and closed my eyes, trying to hold on a little longer.A tray of food was on the floor near the door where the guard had left it an hour ago but I still hadn't touched it, not because I wasn't hungry. I was. My stomach had been making itself known since last night, but eating felt like the wrong thing to be doing right now.I looked at the tray for a long moment and then I got u
ARMANDO~•~The whiskey on my desk was still full and I'd been sitting in the same chair for two hours doing nothing useful.Matteo's chair was across the room. I hadn't moved it. I kept telling myself I would, that there was no point leaving it right there where I'd have to keep looking at it, but I hadn't moved it and I wasn't going to. The left armrest was worn down more than the right one, rubbed almost smooth. He always rested his elbow there when he was thinking something through.I'd never noticed that before yesterday.I looked away and thought about what I actually needed to do, because sitting here staring at a chair wasn't going to fix anything.I needed outside help. I didn't like that, but it was just the truth. My inner circle was reduced, my streets were locked down, and Salvatore was still out there moving like a man who thought he'd already won. I needed men, and I needed someone sharp enough to coordinate from inside the mansion while I put together the response.I w
ARMANDO~•~I sat alone in the study long after they dragged Eleanor out. The door had slammed shut minutes ago, maybe longer. I did not know. Time felt off. The whiskey glass sat in my hand, warm now from how long I had been holding it without drinking.I kept thinking the same thing over and over. Was I really doing this for her because Matteo would have wanted it? Or was it just me? My own stubborn will that did not want to let her go? I rubbed my face with one hand. The answer did not come easy. One thing I knew for sure though was that Salvatore was going to pay for trying to kill me.I set the glass down harder than I meant to then my hand moved to the phone on the desk before I could talk myself out of it. I picked it up and dialed his private number with my own blocked line. The kind of number he could not trace back easy. It rang a few times before he picked up."Who the fuck is this?" Salvatore's voice came through, rough and suspicious like always.I let the silence sit fo
ELEANORThe cold had worked its way so deep into my bones that I barely felt the blanket anymore, and my wrists still hurt from the cuffs at the cemetery. I could still smell the wet earth on my skin.Armando’s voice kept playing in my head. I pressed my forehead against my knees and cried again, quiet this time, because I was too tired for anything louder.I didn’t know how long I sat like that before the footsteps came.The sudden light from the hallway made me squint and then the same guards that had dragged me out the first time came back again. I didn’t even try to stand on my own. They just grabbed my arms and pulled me up.“Where are you taking me this time?” My voice came out rough, like I hadn’t used it in days.They both didn’t answer, not like I even expected any answers from them in the first place.The air grew warmer as we climbed and soon enough, I perceived cigar smoke. My stomach twisted. I suddenly knew where we were going before we even reached the study door.They
ELEANORThe drip from the pipe was the only thing that moved down here like a clock that only counted misery. I sat, curled against the wall with Luca’s blanket pulled tight around my shoulders, but it didn’t stop the cold from crawling into my bones. I whispered into the dark, “I’m sorry, Matteo. I’m so sorry,” until my voice gave out and I managed to sleep off from the tears.Once it was morning, two guards I didn’t know pushed the door open and the light from the hallway stabbed my eyes. They didn’t even bother speaking to me, instead they just grabbed my arms and pulled me up. “Where are you taking me?” I asked, voice small and hoarse.None of them answered but they both dragged me up the stairs, my bare feet scraping the stone. The air got warmer the higher we went, and the smell changed from damp rot to lemon polish and money.They shoved me into a small side room I’d never seen before. I saw a plain black dress sitting on a chair, it was almost the same style as the auction n
ARMANDOI knelt there beside Matteo, my knees pressing into the cold floor of the study. The faint smell of garlic hung in the air, mixing with the scent of death that I knew too well.My hands shook as I reached out again, pressing my fingers to his neck. No pulse. I refused to believe it at first
ELEANORThe slam of the door still rang in my ears, loud and final, like Armando had shut away any hope I had left. I sat on the cold concrete floor, the chill seeping through my thin clothes and into my skin, making me shiver right away. The room was small and bare, with just one bulb hanging fro
ARMANDO The room was quiet, save for the low hum of the TV. My study was always like this—dim lighting, the faint smell of leather, and silence that made it easier to think. I leaned back in my chair, my eyes fixed on the screen. The news anchor’s voice droned on about the recent police crackdowns
ELEANORI scrubbed the last dish, letting the warm water run over my hands until my fingers felt numb. The rhythmic clinking of plates against the sink was the only sound in the kitchen, but my thoughts were far from calm. Armando’s words from earlier echoed in my mind, and then there was Don Salva







